Thresher memorial effort gets $10,000 boost

Monday

Dec 17, 2012 at 2:00 AM

KITTERY, Maine — A local chapter of shipyard superintendents and a major corporation that lost two employees aboard the USS Thresher nearly 50 years ago, each recently made $5,000 contributions toward a memorial commemorating the tragedy.

D. Allan Kerr

KITTERY, Maine — A local chapter of shipyard superintendents and a major corporation that lost two employees aboard the USS Thresher nearly 50 years ago, each recently made $5,000 contributions toward a memorial commemorating the tragedy.

The Thresher (SSN 593), the first in a new wave of nuclear-attack submarines, was designed and built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The ship was conducting sea trials following a major overhaul at the yard when it sank April 10, 1963.

Of the 129 Navy sailors and civilians who died that day, 13 were local Navy yard workers and two were employed by Sperry Gyroscope Company — now known as Northrop Grumman Maritime Systems. The civilian experts were onboard to help oversee equipment during a deep-dive test more than 200 miles off the New England coast.

"The National Association of Superintendents is dedicated to ensuring that the shipyard community never forgets the USS Thresher, the men who are still on patrol, nor the lessons learned from their sacrifice," chapter president Trevor Thayer wrote in a letter announcing the group's $5,000 pledge.

The National Association of Superintendents of U.S. Naval Shore Establishments, formerly known as the Master Mechanics and Foremen Association, was established in April 1912. Thayer noted that at an annual national convention of the group held less than two weeks after the 1963 disaster, members stood for a moment of silent prayer.

Kenneth Corcoran and Donald Stadtmuller were aboard Thresher as representatives of Sperry Gyroscope when the sub departed on its fatal journey. Corcoran, prior to his employment as a field service engineer, was a 20-year Navy veteran who signed up as an enlisted man and retired as a lieutenant.

Stadtmuller had graduated highest in his class at Roslyn High School in Long Island to earn a four-year scholarship from the state of New York. He graduated from Union College in 1958 with a bachelor of science degree and had made a number of previous trips aboard Thresher as a field engineer for Sperry. Stadtmuller was only 26 when he died aboard the submarine; Corcoran was 46, leaving behind a wife and three sons.

"Even though 50 years have passed, their loss is a constant reminder that it is our job to supply the utmost safe and reliable products that meet the needs of the dedicated men and women of the Submarine Force," wrote Kevin King, Northrop Grumman's director of global business development, in a letter accompanying the other $5,000 donation

Local businesses and organizations have helped the effort to build a permanent memorial in Kittery, highlighted by a 129-foot flagpole representing the 129 men who perished in the worst submarine disaster in history.

Piscataqua Savings Bank in Portsmouth and When Pigs Fly Pizzeria in Kittery each donated $1,000, as did the Propeller Club of Portsmouth. Several other area businesses also contributed. Lang's Landscape Service in Greenland and H.L. Patten Construction of Kittery each offered their services and materials to erect the flagpole and associated ornamentation in and around Kittery's Memorial Circle — a contribution valued at tens of thousands of dollars.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard's Pipefitters Shop 56 contributed $1,000 in memory of Henry Moreau and Matthew Scott Danforth. Moreau, a shipyard employee who at 55 was the oldest man lost aboard Thresher, was a World War II Navy veteran and grandfather of two.

Portsmouth's City Council last month approved a $1,000 donation and a resolution supporting the project.

Many private individuals — most with connections to the Navy yard or Thresher — are also making significant donations. In some instances family members are pooling their resources to make a large single contribution honoring a loved one.

Former President George H.W. Bush, a decorated World War II Navy hero and part-time Maine resident, contributed $500 and a letter of endorsement for the project.

Donors who give $1,000 or more toward the memorial will be recognized with an inscribed 24-by-24-inch paver in a proposed monument courtyard adjacent to Town Hall, outside Memorial Circle. Donations of $500 or more will earn designation on an 8-by-16-inch paver; $250 will merit an 8-by-8-inch walkway brick, and $125 contributions are being recognized with 4-by-8-inch bricks. One anonymous donor sent in $1,000 to have eight 4-by-8-inch bricks inscribed to honor eight former shipmates.

The Thresher Memorial Project Group is raising about $98,000 in cash and in-kind contributions for the privately funded effort, and at this time needs nearly $18,000 to achieve that goal. Donations are tax deductible.

D. Allan Kerr is a member of the Thresher Memorial Project Group. He may be contacted at the_culling@hotmail.com.

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service